Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong.”(Isaiah 41:6)

All the love of God, and of Christ, are inseparably linked with love to the brethren. And day by day we can prove and cultivate this love by daily praying for each other: “Let none that wait on thee be ashamed.”(Psalm 25:3)

Take the message to all God’s tried and weary ones, that there are more praying for them than they know. Let it stir them and us in our waiting to make a point of forgetting ourselves, and to enlarge our hearts; let it inspire us all with new courage- for who is there who is not at times ready to faint and be weary?

“Let none that wait on thee be ashamed” is a promise in a prayer: “They that wait on Thee shall not be ashamed!” From many and many a witness the cry comes to everyone who needs the help, brother, sister, tried one, “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait I say on the Lord.”( Psalm 27:14) “Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.”(Psalm 31:24)

Blessed Father! We humbly beseech Thee, Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed; no, not one. Some are weary, and the time of waiting appears long. And some are feeble, and scarcely know how to wait.mAnd some are so entangled in the efforts of their prayers and their work, they think they can find no time to wait continually.

Father, teach us all how to wait. Teach us to think of each other, and pray for each other. Teach us to think of Thee, the God of all waiting ones.

Father!

“Let none that wait on thee be ashamed.” For Jesus sake. Amen.

Andrew Murray

At the time Revelation is written, John is on the Isle of Patmos, banished for proclaiming the Gospel. The Christians are suffering intense persecutions from both Rome and the Jews. By this time many are hiding for their lives in the catacombs of Rome. It appears hopeless as evil and persecution increases. In fact there is almost a feeling of despair. The Christians have expected that their message of love and grace would have been received and no doubt are shocked to the violent reaction of hatred and rejection. Like us they had forgotten that Christ Himself had been crucified for the very same message. I must confess I have a difficult time understanding why any reasonable person would reject Christ and the love of God, but they do. I often wonder if there are those who so enjoy being evil that anyone who lives differently is subject to their hate. I wonder how humans can commit such atrocities as the Holocaust or the genocides of Bosnia and Somalia but they happened. It was in this dark time of despair that God draws John aside to reveal to him and us that God hasn’t abandoned us. In the opening chapters of Revelation, Christ reveals that He is in the midst of the church and is holding us in His hand. Throughout the book, we are shown the master plan of God. Giving humans time to make choices and giving Satan time to carry out his plans, God waits patiently. For those of us who see the world around us imploding, waiting on God is a scary thing. When it appears that evil is prevailing and good is diminishing it is easy to fear and become weary.

Besides the larger picture of the world, there are the individual needs and struggles that affect each of us. There are those waiting the outcome of a medical test, those waiting to see if they will have a job, those waiting to hear that a child is going to turn out ok, and waiting to see if we can ever return to some norm. There are those who have prayed for years over a straying loved one without answer. There are those who

are praying for revival and a turning of the nation to God. So we wait. May I tell you that the waiting room is the loneliest place and that seconds seem like hours. In these times when you feel like giving up, don’t, there are others praying for you! You may never know just who they are but you are being held up in prayer.

Dear brother and sister, though you may not know when or how, God is with you and He will bring you through. The picture Revelation paints is of God on the throne orchestrating all that’s happening. He isn’t surprised by anything going on. As we wait we echo the words of John, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”

As I’ve pondered all that’s happening in our world, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s designed to create a longing for heaven in the saints. I remember as I worked in hospice, that after long years of waiting and especially those last days, the saints would often request me to pray for them that God would come quickly and take them home. I believe He’s coming soon! While we wait, let us take heart, let us trust, let us pray for and encourage one another, and let us let our light shine in this dark world. As we wait, let us wait together. Hebrews 10:25 says:

“Therefore, believers, since we have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where God dwells] by [means of] the blood of Jesus, by this new and living way which He initiated and opened for us through the veil [as in the Holy of Holies], that is, through His flesh, and since we have a great and wonderful Priest [Who rules] over the house of God, let us approach [God] with a true and sincere heart in unqualified assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us seize and hold tightly the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is reliable and trustworthy and faithful [to His word]; and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds, not forsaking our meeting together [as believers for worship and instruction], as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more [faithfully] as you see the day [of Christ’s return] approaching.”

Hebrews 10:19-25

Dr. John Thompson